Pentek, Inc. announced an addition to its popular family of Talon® Sentinel™ signal recording systems, the RTR 2613, which combines Pentek’s intelligent signal scanning software with real-time recording in a lightweight, portable and rugged package. The RTR 2613 allows SIGINT engineers to scan the 3 GHz spectrum for signals of interest and monitor or record instantaneous bandwidths up to 40 MHz once a signal of interest is detected.
The RTR 2613 is housed in a rugged, lightweight chassis measuring only 16 in. x 6.9 in. x 13 in. and typically weighing less than 30 pounds. This briefcase-style, portable workstation features 100 percent aluminum alloy construction, reinforced with shock absorbing rubber corners and an impact-resistant protective glass for the 17 in., high resolution LCD monitor. The RTR 2613 recorder is a grab-and-go recorder suitable for test and measurement, mobile military, security and government intelligence (SIGINT, COMINT and ELINT) applications.
“By targeting spectral scans of 3 GHz, this new cost-effective recorder is priced at 20 percent less than other Sentinel family members,” said Rodger Hosking, vice president of Pentek. “The rich feature set makes this an essential test and measurement tool for spectrum evaluation,” he added.
A Pentek Model 78621 Cobalt® software radio module serves as the data acquisition engine of the Talon RTR 2613. Its 200 MHz 16-bit A/D converter provides 86 dB of spurious-free dynamic range and 75 dB of SNR. A digital down-converter (DDC) provides frequency zooming for signal bandwidths from 40 MHz to as low as a few kHz. The Model 78621 is driven by a 3 GHz RF tuner front end with excellent dynamic range across its entire spectrum.
Sentinel Intelligent Signal Scanning
Pentek’s Sentinel recorders add intelligent signal monitoring and detection capabilities to Talon real-time recording systems. The intuitive GUI allows users to monitor the entire spectrum or select a region of interest, while a selectable resolution bandwidth allows the user to trade sweep rate for a finer resolution and better dynamic range. Scan settings can be saved as profiles for quick setup in the field. RF energy in each band of the scan is detected and presented in a waterfall display. Any RF band can be selected for monitoring and real-time recording.
Ease of Operation
Talon/Sentinel recorders are built on Windows Server 2016 with an Intel Core i7 processor and provide both a GUI (graphical user interface) and API (Application Programming Interface) to control the system. Systems are fully supported with Pentek’s SystemFlow® software for system control and turn-key operation. SystemFlow software has been enhanced to include intelligent scanning and integrated control of the RF tuner and optional RF up-converter. The software provides a GUI with point-and-click configuration management and can store custom configurations for single-click setup.
Post processing and analysis software tools like MATLAB® can be installed directly on the Talon RTR 2613 platform. Data files are recorded to the Windows native NTFS file system, which allows operators immediate access to recordings without the need for any file format conversion.
Configuration Options and Pricing
The Solid-State Drive (SSD) array capacities between 480 GB and 61 TB are available, with support for RAID levels zero, five and six. Additional options include recordable GPS time and position stamping and 10 or 40 GbE offload facilities. The Talon RTR 2613 starts at $61,595 USD. Delivery is 12 to14 weeks ARO for all options.